


On Faith

by AuroraNova



Series: Ties That Bind [2]
Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-20
Updated: 2015-10-20
Packaged: 2018-04-27 06:58:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5038327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuroraNova/pseuds/AuroraNova
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kira and Bashir discuss faith and bitter personal experience.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On Faith

**Author's Note:**

> After “A Friend in Need,” it was clear to me that Julian had to discuss faith with Kira. 
> 
> Timeline: mid season 3.   
> Disclaimer: I don't own them and I'm not making a cent.

Kira suffered only minor scrapes on the rescue mission, and since she’d survived far more serious injuries she wasn’t worried, but of course Dr. Bashir insisted on treating her. It seemed a waste to use the dermal regenerator on such trivial scratches. How many infected wounds could that little device have saved the Resistance? 

“Much longer and the miners would have started to suffer permanent brain damaged from lack of oxygen. You found them just in time, Major,” informed Bashir while tending to Kira’s neck. She’d have no scar from this wound – Federation medical technology at its finest. They didn’t understand that a scar was a badge of honor, proof that you’d survived. 

Asphyxiating on an asteroid would be a terrible way to die. Unless she died of old age in her bed (more likely since the Occupation was over, but she wasn’t counting on it), Kira wanted to go down fighting. “Thank the Prophets.”

“Of course,” muttered Bashir. “The Prophets. Can’t give mere mortals agency.”

“Spare me your Federation enlightenment.” Bashir was usually respectful of her religion and she didn’t appreciate the change in attitude. 

He snapped his head up to look her in the eyes. “I’m sorry, Major. That was uncalled for and unprofessional.”

Kira didn’t respond. If he thought she was going to make this easy for him, he would be sorely disappointed. 

After a small sigh, he continued, “Actual enlightenment would be much different. I’m afraid that was bitter personal experience speaking. Again, I do apologize. I shouldn’t project my feelings onto your faith.”

Now that was interesting. Bitter personal experience was something Kira Nerys understood. It might, in fact, be the only thing she could hope to understand about Bashir, and it would definitely provide a new perspective on the Federation, which couldn’t possibly be as idyllic as they’d like everyone to believe.

Bashir was evidently done fussing over her, and generally Kira spent no more time in the infirmary than absolutely necessary. This time she lingered. “I wasn’t aware that faith was so problematic on Earth.” Their faith in science, perhaps – not that they recognized it for the kind of religion it was. 

“Earth has a long history of religions. Those take more than a few centuries to go away.”

“You say it like religion dying out is a good thing.”

The doctor had an expressive face, so even if he’d tried to deny it Kira wouldn’t have believed him. He didn’t even feed her the politically correct Federation line. “That’s where the bitter personal experience comes in, I suppose.”

He wasn’t going to get into details. Kira respected that, and decided that Bashir had matured considerably since he first arrived. Feeling obligated to point out that faith could be beautiful and nourishing, she said, “Faith is powerful, and like anything powerful it can be used for good or for bad.”

“Really? I don’t hear much negative about the Prophets.”

Did he think that Bajorans were going to advertise all their problems? Kira had no intention of being the one who brought the cult of the Pah-wraiths to Starfleet’s attention, so she provided a less explosive example. “It’s not the Prophets. They’re…” how could she possibly explain? “…so much more than that.”

He considered for a moment. “I’m at a bit of a loss.”

Surprise, surprise. “You probably haven’t heard of Onali Dider. He used to be a vedek in Rakantha Province, until he decided that the Occupation was Bajor’s punishment for leaving the true path of the Prophets. He was killed by the Cardassians, but there’s a small group that still follows his teachings and enjoys passing judgment on anything you can think of.”

She definitely had Bashir’s attention at the word ‘judgment.’ “Such as?” he prompted.

“If your temple isn’t facing south, the Prophets are displeased and you’re inviting retribution. Replicated food is a disgrace that proves you don’t trust the Prophets to provide a fertile planet. It wouldn’t surprise me if they have rules on how you cook hasperat. Basically they think that using your brain will offend the Prophets. There aren’t many of Onali’s followers left.” Their numbers were dwindling all the time, but after Onali there would be someone else. That was her point.

“Earth doesn’t have many reactionary religious followers either, but they do exist,” said Bashir. Which was interesting and possibly worth asking a few of the others about. She was curious what Sisko would have to say on the subject. 

“If the Cardassians had their way we wouldn’t have Onali’s crazy fanaticism, but we would lose so much more because they wanted to obliterate our faith.”

Bashir nodded. “Freedom means that people are free to choose narrow-mindedness.” 

“Exactly. That’s the price we pay for freedom. Don’t you have a saying about bad fruit being only a small part of the harvest?” 

Whatever bad experiences he’d endured with faith, there had to be plenty of good ones on Earth as well. Kira didn’t expect that a single conversation with her would change Bashir’s views, but she hoped he would consider that just because faith could be abused didn’t mean it was without value. 

She must’ve gotten her human idioms mixed up again, because Bashir chuckled. “Something like that.”

Kira had work to do and she’d said her piece, so it was time to leave. “I’ll see you in the staff meeting tomorrow.”

“Major?”

She turned back. “Yes?”

“Thank you. For sharing a different perspective.”

Her reply was a nod before she left the infirmary. That was one of the better conversations she’d had with Bashir. Kira understood that faith was a deeply personal experience and would never press for details, though she was curious as to what exactly made the doctor so opposed to religion. She’d always suspected that Earth couldn’t be a complete paradise, of course, but this put the planet and its population in a different light. 

And perhaps because she understood the nature of bitter personal experience, Kira left the infirmary liking Dr. Bashir slightly more.

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of several related works I have ideas for following "A Friend in Need," which could eventually turn into a Garak/Bashir series. Right now I'm still in the gen stage of exploring natural flaws in the Trek universe.


End file.
